To the right of the main portal in a niche with a shell design, bordered by columns and a triangular tympanum is located the famous marble group by Jacopo Sansovino, commissioned in 1516 by the heirs of the Florentine merchant G. F. Martelli. It was originally known as the Sasso Madonna and widely worshiped. This statue is considered the protector of women in labor and hence is called The Madonna del Parto (the Madonna of Childbirth). Note the votive offerings on the right wall.